This Week's News 27-31 July 2009
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This Week's News 27-31 July 2009 Weekly news clippings service featuring articles on the Global Health Workforce Alliance and selection of articles from around the world on the issue of the health workforce crisis
Africa & Middle East
Asia & Pacific
North America
Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
News from WHO and partners
* All links to HRH Journal will be to an external web page - copy is not reproduced in this document. Back to top Africa & Middle East 1 1,000 health workers to get jobs Sunday Vision, Uganda 26/07/2009 By Joyce Namutebi A THOUSAND health workers are to be recruited this financial year, Health Service Commission chairperson Prof. George Kirya has said. He was appearing before the parliamentary social services committee on Thursday, over the commission’s budget. The number to be recruited almost doubles that of last financial year (2008/9), which is 640 health workers. Last year, the commission did not achieve the set target of recruiting 800 health workers. Kirya attributed the failure to a constricted labour market in some clinical areas such as anaesthesiology, radiology and pathology. He said there was a large number of applicants for some posts, making interviews and shortlisting periods long. The commission recruits health workers according to submission from the Ministry of Health and the two national referral hospitals of Mulago and Butabika. Kirya agreed with the committee on the need to recentralise recruitment of health workers to ensure “rational distribution of health workers across health institutions.” He protested the relocation of sh0.16b from the commission budget to reproductive health, saying although the commission appreciates the need for improved budget for reproductive health, the relocation would cripple it. The commission was been allocated a budget of sh570m for wages, sh1.7b for recurrent non-wages and sh346m for development. 2 Why Women Are Integral to Progress The Citizen, Tanzania 28/07/2009 OPINION Ray Naluyaga Poverty remains a central issue in virtually every sphere of life in Tanzania. Various poverty elimination and reduction strategies and plans have been put in place, but the country is still struggling to meet its development goals. The global economic slowdown can have far-reaching effects on the fight against poverty if no efforts are made to invest in women, who are the majority and whose income is channeled back to the family. According to the World Health Organisation, maternal mortality rates have a statistically negative effect on gross domestic product (GDP). In Africa, women contribute to half of the agricultural labour force and grow 80 per cent of the crops. Investing in interventions to reduce maternal mortality can thus not only save lives of many mothers, but ensure significant economic returns in terms of women's own productive labour and save close to $15 billion Sh20.17 trillion) spent annually on taking care of problems mothers face during pregnancy and delivery. United Nations officials have expressing fears that planned funding for reproductive health services may fall short of its target. According to the latest figures released by the United Nations, international donor assistance to population activities continued to increase over the years - $7.4 billion (Sh9.9 trillion) in 2006 rising to about $8.1 billion (Sh10.8 trillion) in 2007. The projected funding for 2008 and 2009 was estimated at about $11.1 billion and $11.2 billion, respectively. "However, given the current global financial crisis, it is not certain whether donors will live up to their expected future commitments and continue to increase funding levels as they have done in the past few years,"says a report released to coincide with a session of the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in April this year. Speaking during World Population Day, held nationally in Shinyanga on July 11, UNFPA Country Representative Dr Jullita Onabanjo said: "As we commemorate World Population Day, the global financial and economic crisis threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries. Among those hardest hit are women and girls. This is why the theme of this year's World Population Day focuses on investing in women. Even before the crisis, women and girls represented the majority of the world's poor. Now they are falling deeper into poverty and face increased health risks, especially if they are pregnant." She says that access to reproductive health, particularly family planning and maternal health services, helps women and girls avoid unwanted or early pregnancies, unsafe abortions, as well as pregnancy related complications. This means that women stay healthier, more productive, and have more opportunities for education, training and employment, which, in turn, benefit entire families, communities and nations. It is estimated that women represent 70 per cent of the world's absolute poor while the World Bank says that the current global economic crisis has driven another 50 million people into it, but women make 85 per cent of the poorest 93 million clients of microfinance institutions. In Tanzania, women constitute 51 per cent of the total population of estimated 41 million people. "We know that if women have resources they use them for the benefit of the whole family but in Tanzania this significant subsector of the population which plays an integral part to reduction and eventual elimination of poverty loses potential workforce of 8,100 women annually due to preventable maternal death causes," notes Dr Onabanjo. She says child delivery in Tanzania remains a matter of life or death where for every woman that dies due to it, another 20 incur permanent injuries. According to the UNFPA assistant country Office Representative in Tanzania, Dr Rutasha Dadi, in time of crisis, funding for sexual and reproductive health, unwanted pregnancies and preventive care in general is often first to be discontinued. He notes that sexual and reproductive health services are likely to suffer in Tanzania due to the current global economic crisis as health expenditures are cut back. "Short intervals in giving births affects mothers' energy, weight and body mass index and bring about infirmities that can bring more health expenditures in the long run," Dr Dadi says. He adds that 22 per cent of women in Tanzania face an unmet need for family planning services and a quarter of all births in the country are unplanned, yet research shows that spacing intervals could prevent 20 to 35 per cent of the maternal deaths. "Poverty is a major determinant of the lack of access to health services, including reproductive health services and information. For example, the use of contraception by poor women is linked to the overall degree of poverty among women in a particular country. Moreover, poor women are less likely to use contraception than those in the middle-income bracket," says Dr Dadi. Dr Onabanjo says as the country faces the worst ever global economic crisis, the need to find a lasting solution cannot be overemphasized, and there is a need to take a closer look at this year's World Population Day theme that states: "Responding to Global Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice." She says budgets all over the world are being squeezed while incomes at the family level continue to diminish. At this juncture girls are in greater danger of dropping out of school than boys. She adds that women must be protected against preventable maternal deaths if efforts to overcome the global economic crisis are to be overcome and the stage set for sustainable economic development. Dr Onabanjo says the Government must protect achievements attained so far. It must also look into women's ability to earn income through employment and soft loans and repeal laws that impede women' s development. These should be taken into consideration when formulating budgetary decisions and economic policies. She stresses that UNFPA recognises the Government's and other stakeholders' efforts in stabilizing women's health, but also understands the fact that women still face a lot of challenges. Come 2025, Tanzania is estimated to have a population of 63.6 million, with Shinyanga being the most populous region. It is estimated that there are 3.7 million people in Shinyanga and by 2025 the population will have doubled to about 7 million. Such a high rate of population growth affects provision of services such as education, health, water, infrastructure, residence and many others. Control of population growth through reproductive health and investment in maternal health, education to girls and creating opportunities for women is vital if Tanzania is to have sustainable economic growth. Yüklə 491,21 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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